Have we approached a critical mass in fluoride exposure?

The evidence of rising fluoride intake in children is alarming

In 1971, the National Academy of Sciences estimated that an adult's daily average fluoride intake was about 1.0 - 1.5 mg/day in the early 1950s. This was considered "optimal" at the time. The chart below is a graphic example of how much we're now getting. However, even the maximum values will not reflect true intakes for some subsets of the population. For example, athletes, diabetics, pregnant women, construction workers, and heavy tea drinkers can consume considerably more fluoride (up to 14 mgF/day). Case reports have shown that arthritis can be markedly alleviated by giving up tea.

According to the World Health Organization, in combination with certain other factors (e.g., sub-optimal nutrition, kidney disease, etc.), a chronic fluoride intake of between 2.0 and 8.0 mg/day can produce the pre-clinical stage of skeletal fluorosis, a debilitating and/or crippling bone disease. The pre-clinical and early stages of skeletal fluorosis can be mistaken for arthritis. See skeletal.htm and click on "HUMAN". It is noteworthy to mention that in the table below the charts (Table 4B), many 6-mo-old infants are receiving a fluoride intake in mg/kg/day which equals the dose known to cause crippling skeletal fluorosis in adults if maintained.

Water fluoride from < 0.3 ppm -- > 2.0 parts per million (ppm); equivalent to mg/literSource: U.S. Public Health Services: "Review of Fluoride Benefits and Risks" 1991, Table 11

Adair SM, Piscitelli WP, McKnight-Hanes C, Comparison of the use of a child and an adult dentifrice by a sample of preschool children. Pediatr Dent, 1997 Mar, 19 (2): 99-103.

The purpose of this study was to compare the use of a child dentifrice (CD) and an adult dentifrice (AD) by a convenience sample of preschool-aged children. Fifty participants, ages 31 to 60 months, were recruited from a dental school clinic and an area day care center. All were healthy, free of developmental delays, and capable of applying dentifrice to a toothbrush. [...] Most children did not expectorate or rinse after brushing. Most parents selected drawings on a questionnaire that indicated that their child routinely used 0.25-0.5 g of dentifrice per brushing, which underestimated the amount they used in the study. The results of this study indicated that young children may be exposed to more fluoride for a longer period of time with CD.

Increasing consumption of beverages as a replacement for water have made fluoride content in beverages an important issue. In this study, forty-three ready-to-drink fruit juices were examined for fluoride ion concentration. It was found that 42% of the samples had more than 1 ppm of fluoride. It was also determined that "pure" fruit juices, often grape juices, contained high levels of fluoride [up to 6.8 ppm]. Juice made from grapes separated from the skin did not contain any fluoride. Since it is common practice to use fluoride-containing insecticide in growing grapes, it is believed that contamination of these juices is occurring. Washing of grape skins produced appreciable quantities of fluoride. Given that increasing numbers of people are consuming beverages instead of water, fluoride supplementation should not be based solely upon the concentration of the drinking water, but should also consider the amount of different beverages consumed and their fluoride. [emphasis added]

TABLE 4: Estimates of Fluoride Intake from All Sources for Children (continued next page) [to come yet]

TABLE 4B: Estimated Fluoride Intake of 6-month-old Infants (mg)

H2OFppm

Formula TypeorBreast Milk

Formula orBreast Milk1 liter

Water2 oz

InfantJuices4 oz

Infant Cereal1 oz dry

Infant Food4 oz

Supp

Paste

Total

Total/kgbw(7.6 kg)*

0.10

Breastmilk

<0.01

0.01

0.07 (0-0.34)

0.03 (0.01-0.06)

0.02 (0-0.42)

0.25

0.01 (0-0.04)

0.40 (0.28-1.13)

0.05 (0.04-0.15)

0.30

BreastmiIk

<0.01

0.03

"

"

"

-

"

0.41 (0.29-1.14)

0.05 (0.04-0.15)

1.00

Breastmilk

<0.01

0.06

"

"

"

-

"

0.45 (0.35-1.18)

0.06 (0.04-0.16)

0.10

rtf, milk

0.14** (0.04-0.35)***

0.01

"

"

"

0.25

"

0.53 (0.31-1.47)

0.07 (0.04-0.19)

0.10

rtf, soy

0.30 (0.17-0.38)

0.01

"

"

"

0.25

"

0.69 (0.44-1.50)

0.09 (0.06-0.20)

0.10

liq conc milk

0.17 (0.09-0.24)

0.01

"

"

"

0.25

"

0.56 (0.36-1.36)

0.07 (0.05-0.18)

0.10

liq conc soy

0.29 (0.09-0.52)

0.01

"

"

"

0.25

"

0.68 (0.36-1.62)

0.09 (0.05-0.22)

0.10

pow conc, milk

0.24 (0.15-0.38)

0.01

"

"

"

0.25

"

0.63 (0.42-1.50)

0.08 (0.06-0.20)

0.10

pow conc, soy

0.34 (0.29-0.38)

0.01

"

"

"

0.25

"

0.73 (0.56-1.50)

0.10 (0.07-0.20)

0.30

rtf, milk

0.14 (0.04-0.35)

0.02

"

"

"

-

"

0.99 (0.07-1.23)

0.04 (0.01-0.16)

0.30

rtf, soy

0.30 (0.17-0.38)

0.02

"

"

"

-

"

0.45 (0.20-1.26)

0.06 (0.06-0.17)

0.30

liq conc, milk

0.27 (0.19-0.34)

0.02

"

"

"

-

"

0.42 (0.22-1.22)

0.06 (0.03-0.16)

0.30

liq conc, soy

0.39 (0.19-0.62)

0.02

"

"

"

-

"

0.54 (0.22-1.50)

0.07 (0.03-0.20)

0.30

pow conc, milk

0.44 (0.35-0.58)

0.02

"

"

"

-

"

0.59 (0.38-1.46)

0.08 (0.05-0.19)

0.30

pow conc, soy

0.54 (0.49-0.58)

0.02

"

"

"

-

"

0.69 (0.52-1.46)

0.09 (0.07-0.19)

1.00

rtf, milk

0.14 (0.04-0.35)

0.06

"

"

"

-

"

0.33 (0.11-1.27)

0.04 (0.01-0.17)

1.00

rtf, soy

030 (0.17-0.38)

0.06

"

"

"

-

"

0.49 (0.24-1.30)

0.06 (0.03-0.17)

1.00

liq conc, milk

0.62 (0.54-0.69)

0.06

"

"

"

-

"

0.81 (0.61-1.61)

0.11 (0.08-0.21)

1.00

liq conc, soy

0.74 (0.54-0.97)

0.06

"

"

"

-

"

0.93 (0.61-1.89)

0.12 (0.06-0.25)

1.00

pow conc, milk

1.14 (1.05-1.28)

0.06

"

"

"

-

"

1.33 (1.12-2.20)

0.18 (0.15-0.29)

1.00

pow conc, soy

1.24 (1.19-1.28)

0.06

"

"

"

-

"

1.43 (1.26-2.20)

0.19 (0.17-0.29)

*Average weight of six-month-old infants (104)

**Mean of estimated intake, assuming stated quantity of intake

***Range of estimated intake, assuming stated quantity of intake, with range due to variation in fluoride levels of products